Past Meetings - Descriptions and Summaries

Wednesday 20 June 2007

7.15pm for 7.30pm start at Computacenter Ltd., Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield Avenue, Hatfield, AL10 9TW

A Visit to Computacenter at 7.30pm (followed by the Annual General Meeting at 8.45pm)

Come and join us for an hour long tour of Computacenter's testing solutions centre and automated warehouse. This is a special opportunity to see and hear about the facilities for all that testing that you know you want and need to do. The testing labs allow customers to test their software on different hardware and software platforms. Marvel at the automated goods handling equipment deployed to service customers' orders.

We saw the automated warehouse after the main business of the day so there was relatively little activity. But what we saw was seriously impressive. It would be something to see it when it was really busy!

Wednesday 23 May 2007

8.00pm at the offices of Steria Limited, Hemel Hempstead

An Alternative National Identity Card

David Birch, Director of Consult Hyperion, chair of the Digital Identity Forum

After some years work, the Home Office has defined a new national identity system for the UK and is due to start procurement next month. While it's hard to be sure exactly what the system will do, since no specifications have been published, many informed observers have expressed entirely reasonable concerns about the cost, functionality, security and privacy characteristics of the system.

This talk discusses an alternative way forward for national identity. It sets out a more technologically-informed vision of a national identity management system that can deliver, apparently paradoxically, both more security and more privacy, more functionality and less cost. This talk will explain why this kind of identity system founded on Privacy Enhancing Technology (PET), built on smart cards, cryptography and biometrics, is better for individuals, businesses and the government.

The slides of David's thought-provoking talk may be downloaded here (2.4 Mb pdf file).

Monday 30 April 2007

8.00pm at the offices of Steria Limited, Hemel Hempstead

21st Century Networking

Tim Hubbard, Head of 21CN Solutions Strategy, BT Wholesale Chief Technology Office

21CN (21st Century Network) is BT's next generation global network programme. It is a brand new global IP/MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) platform that will replace the existing complex network and systems with a physically simpler and more reliable network. It will ensure the delivery of next-generation services faster, more efficiently and more cost-effectively than ever before.

Tim will discuss 21CN's architecture and underpinning technologies and how it is pushing at the boundaries of what is possible in developing new networking standards, protocols and technologies as BT not only builds the new network but also migrates about 20 million end user connections across the UK to the new network.

Those present, must have been left breathless by Tim's rapid-fire presentation, and may wish to review Tim's slides (8516 KB Powerpoint).

The subject of telecommunications is full of acronyms. The following links may help to decode them:
http://www.electrodata.com/Acronym.htm
http://acronymsonline.com/
Alternatively, "Google" telecommunications acronyms.

Monday 26 March 2007

8.00pm at the offices of Steria Limited, Hemel Hempstead

Mobile Computing

Rick Chandler, chair of the EEMA Wireless Group

This presentation will track the development of the Mobile computer from the early 1980s and try to predict where Mobility will take both the business user and the consumer. The presenter made the keynote speech at the UK's first conference on Mobile Computing in 1984 and has tracked its development ever since. As we head towards a ubiquitous Wireless Broadband world where Metcalfe's and Moore's laws continue relentlessly on we will examine possible limits. As UMPCs and Smartphones take over from Laptops, the effects of Mobility on Work Style and Lifestyle will be discussed (with audience participation).

Our speaker will just have returned from the CeBIT trade show in Hannover and so should be bang up to date with the latest trends and devices.

Wednesday 28 February 2007

8.00pm at the offices of Steria Limited, Hemel Hempstead

Massively Parallel Architectures

Dr. Colin Egan, Department of Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire

Traditionally the memory wall problem, limiting processor performance, is overcome by introducing extra levels in the memory hierarchy. Unfortunately, this increases the design complexity and power consumption of the overall system. Integrating the processing logic and memory simplifies the system design, can reduce power consumption, and certainly reduces memory access times. This technique is termed Processing In Memory (PIM). Many PIMs can be connected together to form massively parallel cellular architectures. Our speaker will introduce us to this fascinating field.

This talk developed into an interesting debate between Dr. Egan, Jason McGuiness and members of the audience - unfortunately unminuted. Dr. Egan's slides are copyright and are provided here (380 KB pdf file) for members' personal use, but not for commercial gain.

Tuesday 30 January 2007

8.00pm at the offices of Steria Limited, Hemel Hempstead

Project and Programme Accounting

John Chapman, Programme Director, Touchstone Ltd. (a business solutions consultancy)

In an organisation's project accounting system the differing needs of both project management and the finance function have to be met. By combining project and programme management techniques with financial and management accounting methods, a more holistic approach to capturing metrics is possible. Analysis of this will enable focused effort to improve project efficiency and effectiveness. John is the author of the only textbook dedicated to this subject.

Those interested in following up this novel approach may wish to be reminded of John Chapman's talk by downloading his slides (7.2 Mb Powerpoint presentation).

Tuesday 28 November 2006

8.00pm at the offices of Steria Limited, Hemel Hempstead

The future of Information Security, or Farewell Firewalls

Andrew Yeomans, VP Global Information Security, Dresdner Kleinwort

Topics covered will be:
a) Challenges of Information Security Today;
b) Hardware and Software Trends and Implications;
c) Deperimeterisation - Hype or Reality?;
d) How do we Secure our Future Systems?

Andrew, formerly with IBM, also leads the Solutions Working Group of the Jericho Forum, an international circle of IT customer and vendor organizations dedicated to the development of open standards to enable secure and boundaryless information flows across organizations.

Those wishing to be reminded of this very interesting talk can download Andrew Yeomans's slides by clicking here (1457 KB pdf file).

Tuesday 17 October 2006

8.00pm at the offices of Steria Limited, Hemel Hempstead

Business Continuity Management - a Buncefield Story

Richard Potter, Head of Commercial Consulting, Steria Limited

Located close to the Buncefield Oil Depot, Steria's UK Headquarters was damaged by the explosion last December. How did an organisation of 1000 people and a multi-million pound business survive the incident? What lessons did the company learn from its response? Richard Potter, who has presented widely on the subject, will explain how Steria's unique perspective to BCM enables complex organisations to implement efficient business continuity plans that assure businesses operate effectively through a crisis and beyond.

This session (the largest gathering for some time) was attended by a cross section of members and guests, spanning both the private and public sectors, including other IT Service providers. Those wishing to be reminded of this meeting can download Richard Potter's slides by clicking here (2925 KB pdf file).

Tuesday 26 September 2006

8.00pm at the offices of Steria Limited, Hemel Hempstead

Fault-Tolerant Computing

Kevin McGeough & David Russell, NonStop Enterprise Division, Hewlett Packard

In 1974, in Silicon Valley, California, two engineers from Hewlett-Packard started a computer company, called Tandem, which first developed computer systems incorporating fault-tolerance. Many organisations have since developed a variety of fault tolerant systems and high availability configurations. Most have come and gone, however the principles remain the same. Our speakers will present a wide-ranging review of fault tolerant systems over the years, outlining typical applications, and will highlight how history repeats itself in the latest HP Integrity NonStop servers.

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